Back To Eden – Blackened Heart EP (2018)

There’s just five cuts on this EP, but I think that fans of alternative hard rock music and classic heavy metal will find something to like here. Alterbridge-esque cut “Temptation” comes in with a rather approachable series of thumps, complete with an anthemic chorus and a decent little solo number. I won’t say that vocals are perfect, but they do have some promise on this particular cut. “Twin Flame” actually changes gears a little bit and throws us into classic heavy metal territory, whether that’s Priest, Saxon, Loudness and many others. I’m hearing a bit of Deep Purple‘s “Highway Star” here as well. The solo section is also a bit more grand than the previous number. “Back To Eden” features more of a Motley Crue vibe, with a bit of blues here and there and fantastic rock solo in addition to yet another catchy chorus. The title cut is the album’s ballad, but it isn’t quite as soft as you’d expect and being that the cut is nearly seven-minutes long, it will of course contain a massively drawn out solo in much the familiar Guns N’ Roses “November Rain” style. The song is alright, but it’s not nearly as interesting to me as some of the previous numbers. Just not my cup of coffee, I suppose. The disc ends with “Devil In Disguise” which is more or less a continuation of the alternative hard/rock style that fans of Alterbridge or should I even say Mob Rules, will dig. Again, I’m not completely sold on the vocal tone here, but I will say that the sense of harmony and dynamics are enough to convince me that something could definitely further arise out of Back To Eden. If this mixture of hard rock with a touch of classic hair sounds like it would suit you, then I think you’ll find something to like here. Though I hadn’t mentioned it earlier, I think that fans of the previous couple of Stryper albums will dig this one as well and that seems to be a large influence in Back To Eden’s sound.